On the king's command

A strange confession

Bard spent the whole next day in the garden around the palace. He loved to look at the flowers and hear the melodic rhythm of the cuontless water fountains. Strange and fair birds chirped in the sky and a bee got lost in his hair for a short while. With his strong but gentle fingers, Bard untangled it and let it fly to the nearest cornflower. 

His mind was wandering, the same as his body was. While gazing at a particularly red poppy flower, he saw a face with similar red lips in front of him. An old but gracious weeping willow reminded him of the elegant body of a certain elven king. The water of a hidden pond was like a mirror of the icy blue eyes he had stared into at last night's  dinner. It was as if even though Thranduil was nowhere near, he still lingered around the man from Dale and made him feel his presence. It was with that feeling, that Bard finally arrived in front of the king's chambers again in the evening, his brain believing he had only left a second ago.

"I hope no one gave you any food today", Thranduil greeted the man and gestured him inside. 

As Bard thought about the strange remark, he actually found that it was true, he hadn't eaten the whole day.

"Perfect then!", the king exclaimed and sat down in a big armchair next to the fireplace. "It feels good to know that my servants still obey. Sit down, will you?"

With uncertain steps, Bard took place next to the king in another armchair. His was only slightly smaller than the king's. As soon as he had sat down, a door opened and three servants arrived, each carrying a huge silver tray loaden with food. As the smell reached Bard's nose, his stomach growled loudly. 

"This is all for you", Thranduil stated. "I hope you find the elven cuisine as exquisite as I do."

"Of course, my king", Bard answered quickly. He hadn't said a word since he had entered the room.

"Well, I especially recommend the fried tarantulas in honey sauce. My son Legolas absolutely loves them."

Something turned inside Bard at the word tarantula, but he gave no sign of disgust, apart from planting his feet steadily on the ground.

"Then I would be delighted to try them", he answered politely. 

Thranduil laughed, then shook his head.

"You are a most delightful man, Bard. And I love how obedient you are. But I must tell you, I don't have any tarantulas, unless I wanted to poison you. You see, Mirkwood spiders all have a certain poison in their teeth which makes them inedible."

With his slender fingers, the king picked a strawberry from a plate and put it in his mouth. Then he licked the fruit juice from his fingers, all the while not being bothered by Bard's openmouthed stare. Luckily, the man was able to pull himself together and turn his gaze away from the elf. Instead, he took a piece of some vegetable pie to occupy himself with something other than being a puppet at the elf's hands. 

"If I were you, I wouldn't eat this", Thranduil suddenly said. Bard immediately stopped his hand in midair. "Oh, I'm just joking!"

The elf laughed again, while Bard eyed the pie suspiciously before taking a tiny bite. However, it tasted deliciously and he had finished the piece in no time. But he began to grow annoyed and a little bit angry at the elf, for he didn't want to be played with and made fun of. It felt as if he was only here to entertain the king. And then, he didn't see the point of being here at all.

"May I ask a question, your majesty?", the man asked.

"Call me Thranduil, will you?", the king answered happily and took another strawberry. "Go ahead."

"Well ... Thranduil ... why am I here?"

"Why are you here?", the elf questioned in return and turned to look at Bard. His stare was unsettling due to its intensity. "Well, I don't know. You came."

"But you summoned me", Bard answered back. "I simply acted upon your invitation."

"Oh that", Thranduil said to himself quietly. "I seem to have had a weak moment in inviting you then. Usually, people beg me to let them enter my kingdom. Maybe you put a spell on me?"

"Certainly not", Bard stated confused. 

"I am sure you did. Your almond brown eyes bewitched me. Your wavy hair mesmerized me. Your strong arms enchanted me. Your ...", the elf king explained, but was stopped by Bard in midsentence. 

"Wait...what?", he exclaimed in shock. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. But, again, this was the elf king Thranduil and he was certainly unpredictable. 

His counterpart only smirked and leant back in his chair. Bard was left to wonder over this strange confession. It took him half a minute to figure out his next sentence.

"Are you suggesting ... that you find me ... attractive?!", he asked. His hands were sweating and he wrung them nervously in his lap. Even though he had waited for a moment like this, he had also feared it. For what were the consequences?

"If you want to use that very unpoetic word", Thranduil noted, "then yes, I find you very írui, attractive. For my part I prefer gracious as an old willow swaying in the wind or radiant as Evermind (an elvish flower) in the rays of the Moon."

Thranduil leant back in his chair and smiled while looking into the fire. His face emanated a quiet calm that couldn't be seen there often. He seemed to be looking into some distant places of his mind, wandering forgotten dreams or remembering lost wishes and his long-lost wife. Reminiscence was what had befallen him. And it made him beautiful. 

Yeyy, finally another chapter! Hope you like it and it isn't too confusing, but I guess not. I don't know when I'll post the next part, hopefully soon.